


lost and found

by hyunchans



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Blood, Dark, Darkness, Demons, Gore, Gorey Descriptions, Horror, M/M, Spookfest, fear of the dark, food rationing, hand holding, hiker, kiss, lost souls - Freeform, monster like, tunnel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:13:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27238600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyunchans/pseuds/hyunchans
Summary: the tunnel shows up when late night travelers need it most. when hyunjin enters it he isn't aware it will be the last place he will experience a human life
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 8
Kudos: 42





	lost and found

**Author's Note:**

> spookfest prompt #25
> 
> i recommend using the following two links as ambience music - these were also what i wrote majority of this to.  
> [one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaMt2uo3wQs&ab_channel=AdaCharmaine)  
> [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y92uWSYsUhY&ab_channel=Brambles-Topic)  
> [three](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhB-spvAF4A&ab_channel=Amygdala)

_"even the devil was an angel once."_

\- m. robinson

❥

When the tunnel appeared Hyunjin almost screamed with joy. He had been lost for hours after straying from the trail and darkness had soon fallen upon the mountains. His camping gear was in his car, though he didn’t think he would be finding it anytime soon. The fact he had stumbled across the tunnel was great – this meant he _must_ be close to the carpark area, he _had_ to be. He stepped carefully over the uneasy forest floor, making his way to the dark tunnels entrance.

When he was a child he used to be terrified of the dark. He used to be one of those children that slept with the light dimmer on until he was thirteen and even then he would always use a torch or phone light to guide him to the kitchen or bathroom at night time. As he grew older, the dark scared him less although there were times where he succumbed to his childhood fear. It didn’t happen often, but right now there was a child inside of him screaming to turn on the lights.

The tunnel seemed to go on for miles.

Good thing he had a full charge on his cell phone as well as a headlamp for emergencies. In fact, Hyunjin was fully prepared if the tunnel turned out to stretch longer than he expected. As he took his first steps into the tunnel, everything seemed to shift. It felt darker, deeper than anything he had felt before. It wasn’t as unsettling as he had expected it to be, and some strange part of him felt comforted by the wide space between the walls of the tunnel. As he ventured further his stomach began to grumble. He hauled the pack off his back onto the gravel floor and began to scour his pack for a snack.

Freeze dried jerky – a delicious, hiker go to. 

He checked for any damp spots before settling onto the floor of the tunnel to eat half of the packet. He reached for his water bottle, guzzling down a few mouthfuls – careful to conserve in case it takes longer than a few hours to reach the end of the tunnel. Any other civilian might be terrified at the thought of being stranded on a hiking trail late at night. Hyunjin didn’t know the area well but he trusted his instinct and his instinct said that he was nearly there.

He couldn’t ignore such a strong feeling.

While he is eating his jerky, his ears prick up at the sound of footsteps approaching him from the direction he had entered the tunnel. Before he can get a proper look, a figure falls into place in front of him.

“Hello?”

“Oh hello. You lost too?”

The young man looks about his age, and underneath the dim headlamp light Hyunjin can see his sharp features. The man was stunning despite looking like he had just been in a brawl. His face was covered in dried blood and scratches and his clothes were covered in soot and mud.

“Kind of… Are you okay?” Hyunjin asks the man while pointing to his attire. 

“Oh this? Yeah I had an accident trying to find my way out of a crawl space.” The young man steps closer towards him and Hyunjin offers him his water bottle.

“Thank you,” he says as he takes the bottle from Hyunjin, gently pressing it to his lips and taking a few swigs. It looks like he barely drank any at all but Hyunjin can’t question that when he saw him gulp it down in front of him. Maybe it’s just the dark playing tricks on his eyes, he decides.

“I’m Minho by the way,” he says as he holds out his hands towards Hyunjin. Hyunjin shakes it but almost recoils from the heat of it.

“Are you sure you are okay? Your hand is really warm?” Hyunjin questions.

Minho laughs, “yeah i’m fine. I just run hot.” Hyunjin raises an eyebrow but hands out his jerky packet towards him. Minho shakes his head and pushes the packet back towards Hyunjin.

“I’m good, keep them for yourself.” Minho smiles and Hyunjin tucks them away in his pack.

“Are you heading through the tunnel too? Want to walk together?” Hyunjin asks.

“Please. I could really do with the company,” Minho tells him. The pair stand and Hyunjin hoists the pack back onto his shoulders. 

“Did you get lost hiking?” Minho asks him.

Hyunjin nods his head.

“Felt like I was going around in loops for hours trying to find my way back to the car park.”

Minho’s eyes light up. “I’m pretty sure the car park should be on the other end of this,” he says. Hyunjin sighs a breath of relief.

“Thank god. I was starting to think I might die out here,” Hyunjin jokes. Minho’s face twitches but he laughs at the joke too, following Hyunjin as he leads the way through.

“Minho watch out!” the man stumbles over a rock and falls face first into Hyunjin, lips and all. Hyunjin at first doesn’t know what to do, but something inside of him dares him to kiss him back. Minho’s head cocks to the side, surprised at Hyunjin’s reaction as he lips press further into his. Hyunjin dares to brush his tongue against Minho’s bottom lip and is met with the sour taste of soot. Minho opens his lips slightly, letting Hyunjin dart his tongue into the opening and roam around. After a moment the pair break free and Hyunjin giggles.

“Did you trip over on purpose so you could kiss me, stranger?” Hyunjin laughs. 

“No… it was a lucky chance,” Minho says. Hyunjin wipes his mouth, surprised at the amount of soot that had transferred from Minho’s face to his own, but holds his hand out towards Minho. Minho takes his hand and links his fingers through his as he maneuvers over the large rock he had tripped over.

“Onwards?” Hyunjin questions.

Minho nods.

“Lead the way.”

❥

As they continue to walk hand in hand down the tunnel, Hyunjin can see light peeking through about a mile away. He lights up, yanking Minho’s arm almost out of its socket as he drags him into a fast paced jog down the tunnel. Minho smiles at him as Hyunjin gleams when they near the exit.

“Oh my god! There’s my car, look Minho my car is right there.” Hyunjin grins and points to his car as he yanks Minho’s wrist. As Hyunjin goes to step through the end of the tunnel something bounces him back towards Minho. Hyunjin frowns and walks forward once more, and is met with the same invisible barrier.

“What the fuck is this?” He can no longer feel Minho’s grasp on his own and he spins around. 

Minho is there or at least what seems to be Minho.

“Why can't I get through?” Hyunjin asks painedly.

“Those who come through, can’t get out. I’m sorry Hyunjin but it’s the rule,” Minho croaks. As Hyunjin adjusts his headlamp the light shines over Minho’s face, revealing something monstrous peeking out from underneath the folds of his face.

Hyunjin’s breath catches in his throat, “I don’t understand?” He looks back to the exit to point at his car, which evaporates into thin air before his eyes.

“Minho what the fuck is going on?” Hyunjin’s voice wobbles, and he doesn’t know if he should take a step closer or a step away from the young man. 

“Those who come in, cannot leave.” Minho’s face is filled with sorrow, his eyes glistening with tears underneath the blood caked over his eyelids. As Hyunjin holds eye contact with him longer, the same monstrous face ripples underneath Minho’s skin and Hyunjin screams.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Hyunjin backs away, pressing his back hard into the tunnel wall. He feels the rough concrete dig into his back, an unwanted reminder that this was real and not all a dream. 

“What the fuck are you?” Hyunjin sobs.

Minho takes a step closer, and with the exit behind Hyunjin being blocked off, Hyunjin had absolutely nowhere to go. 

“The lost, Hyunjin. And so are you.”

Minho takes a step closer and Hyunjin squeezes his eyes shut. He feels Minho’s hand link through his left hand, while his right cradles his cheek. Hyunjin quivers as he feels Minho’s hot breath against his lips, the lips that felt safe earlier.

Now, it feels like danger, like the end. 

Hyunjin opens his eyes after daring himself to look Minho in the eyes. Half of the young man’s face was mangled, eyeball hanging from its socket, forehead exposing a large indent from what looks like a fall. Hyunjin feels blood dripping onto his hand from Minho’s arm, and he cries as Minho begins to close the distance between them.

“I’m truly sorry Hyunjin, you really seem like a good person. But I don’t make the rules, the tunnel does.” Minho whispers almost gently against his lips and Hyunjin feels his chest heave.

“Are you going to kill me?” Hyunjin asks him. Those sorrowful eyes take pity on him, and for the first time in fifty years Minho decides to let this soul know of the tunnel’s true nature.

“The minute you entered this tunnel Hyunjin, your fate was sealed.”

“You mean I was never going to be able to leave?” Hyunjin quivers. Minho’s hold on his hand tightens as he squeezes it out of comfort, and Hyunjin finds himself keen to the touch as Minho’s other hand strokes hair out of his eyes. 

“No, never.”

“Why did you do this to me? Why can’t you let me go?”

Minho cocks his head, eyeball twitching as he contemplates something.

“Please Minho, I don’t want to die. I _can’t_ die,” Hyunjin begs. 

Minho stares at him for a long time before pressing his lips against Hyunjin’s. The kiss is warm and bitter from the wet blood dripping down his face, vastly unlike the kiss they shared earlier. But Hyunjin finds himself unable to escape the embrace, in fact, he kisses Minho back. He feels his chest give in, and the air begins to be sucked from his lungs. He is unable to break free from the kiss but a voice in his head tells him to give in, to trust him.

When Minho finally removes his lips from Hyunjin’s he grabs the blonde by his shoulders and shoves him towards the exit. 

“Leave now! Quick before it comes!” Minho tells him. Hyunjin scrunches his face as Minho pushes him towards the exit further.

“I thought you said I can't?” Hyunjin argues as he resists.

“Hyunjin please! I’m saving your-” With one last shove, Minho manages to push Hyunjin through. When Hyunjin hits the ground from his fall, he hears a loud rumble from behind him. As he looks back he sees Minho standing in the middle of the exit.

“If I can leave so can you! Minho follow me, come through!” Hyunjin yells. 

Minho shakes his head and takes a step back into the tunnel.

“Why aren’t you coming!” Hyunjin screams.

Minho opens his mouth to speak but before anything can leave his lips a tall, dark figure emerges behind him and takes his head in both hands.

“Don’t touch him, stop!” Hyunjin screams as he takes a a step back towards the tunnel. The dark figure manifests into something grotesque, something so evil Hyunjin can barely fathom its existence before him.

“Enjoy your freedom, I will have fun torturing this soul for letting you leave.” The demon opens its mouth and swallows Minho’s body whole. Within seconds the tunnel rumbles loudly again and the loud sound similar to a landslide fills the air.

The demon looks at Hyunjin, and looks to where Minho’s soul had been and laughs.

“You fucks,” it says as the tunnel collapses on top of it, and a gust of glittery air escapes from the rubble.

Hyunjin is blanketed in darkness as he realises his fate.

He’s dead.

He was dead the second he crossed over into the tunnel. 

Hyunjin was blanketed in darkness, and felt the passing touch of a hand against his fingers. Remaining energy from Minho’s soul had escaped from the demon’s reaches and had made its way towards him.

“Hyunjin, you can leave now.”

Hyunjin shakes his head.

“Why should I leave? What about you?”

“I sacrificed my afterlife to let you leave. Make the most of yours,” Hyunjin feels the ghosting of lips against his cheeks and the sudden feel of ice filling his body.

Maybe darkness wasn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading this fic, it isn't my best of my works but it was a really fun prompt to fiddle with and explore. writing 'spooky' and 'horror' content is so fun and expressive and i love that this fest is a collection of everything that falls under those titles.
> 
> if you enjoyed this, don't hesitate to leave kudos or comments, we writers love seeing your reactions and knowing our work has made someone smile ♡ validation is a very strong thing we thrive off of after all. the amount of motivation it gives me is what keeps me going and writing.
> 
> links to my socials:  
> [1\. twitter](https://twitter.com/hyvnchns) if anyone would like to follow for updates, and sneak peeks on wips and such  
> [2\. cc](https://curiouscat.qa/hyvnchns) if you prefer anonymity! i also take requests :)


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